​On Jan 22, 2017 I attended a session by the World's Leading Management Guru, Brian Tracy at The National Achievers Conference at Bangalore. I loved his 7 step process for goal setting and found it to be very effective. However, when I tried explaining it to others, many found it difficult to remember the 7 steps. Hence I decided to create a simplified process of setting and achieving goals. The 4D process I came up with consists of 4 simple, easy to remember steps all starting with a D; Dream, Define, Divide and Do.

Let us explore each of the steps in detail.

Step 1: Dream - Dream of a goal that is both Desirable and Doable.Desirable - means you really feel motivated to achieve it.Doable - means you feel it’s possible to achieve it.

Example: Ram wants to lose weight this year.
For Ram, this goal is desirable and doable. He really feels motivated to lose weight and feels it’s possible to achieve it.

Action for reader: Think of a goal in any area of your life; career, health, relationships, money etc. Now, ask yourself two questions. It is desirable - do you really feel motivated to achieve it? It is doable - do you feel it’s possible to achieve it? If the answer to both these questions is a yes then proceed to step 2, else think of an alternate goal that is both desirable and doable.

Example: Ram wrote the following goal. I will lose 5 kg and reduce 2 inches from my waist by 30th November 2017.
Note that in the above goal statement he didn't just say lose weight, he included details like lose 5 kg and reduce 2 inches from my waist and also the date.

Why write the goal on paper? If we write it, our mind realises that we are serious about achieving it. Our mind then focuses on the goal and starts working in the background on how to achieve it.

Action for reader: Write your goal on paper in below format with details and date.
I will ____ by DD MM YYYY

Step 3: Divide - Divide the goal into sub-goals.

Make a list of all actions you need to do to achieve the goal. Next, split your goal into sub-goals with dates.

Let us continue with Ram’s goal:Goal: I will lose 5 kg and reduce 2 inches from my waist by 30th November 2017.

Sub-goals with Timelines:15 July 2017: I will lose 1 kg by 15 July 2017

15 September 2017: I will lose 3 kg and 1 inch by 15th September 2017.

15 October 2017: I will lose 4 kg and 1.5 inches by 15th October 2017.

Action for reader: Make a list of actions needed to achieve your goal. Also write down sub-goals, with dates as shown above.

Step 4: Do - Do daily micro-actions.

What is the most important thing needed in order to achieve goals? It’s Action. If we plan for big actions we may keep postponing them. Hence it’s better to start with micro-actions that can be completed in less than 30 minutes. Completing micro-actions motivates us to do more micro-actions that keep moving us towards our goals.

Action for reader: Write down your daily micro-actions, include small things you can easily complete every day.

Step 4: Do - Do daily micro-actions.
I have included step 4 again as after a few days, motivation levels may drop. Here are some tips to motivate you to keep doing your daily micro-actions.

i) Plan and schedule each day the night before. Decide a fixed time and place to do your daily micro-action to make it a habit.

ii) Overcome distractions creatively. Let’s take the case of Ram whose daily micro-action is to exercise on waking up, but he can’t resist checking his mobile. To avoid the temptation of checking his mobile, he came up with an idea of charging his mobile in the living room instead of the bedroom.

iii) Give yourself a micro-reward on completing your micro-action to keep yourself motivated. It could be a piece of chocolate/fruit, a short chat with a friend or watching a short youtube video.

Action for reader: Decide a fixed time and place to do your daily micro-actions, come up with creative ways to overcome distractions, and choose micro-rewards that motivate you to keep doing your micro-actions.

To summarise, the 4D process of setting and achieving goals consists of 4 simple steps:-Dream of a goal that is desirable and doable.-Define it on paper with details and deadline.-Divide it into sub-goals.-Do daily micro-actions.